CMS Releases Doctor Lookup Pilot on Health Insurance Exchange
A group of consumers will be part of the pilot program that allows them to select plans and compare their options based on the Doctor Lookup feature. This program will be held at random with one out of four site visitors selected.
By - The health insurance exchange has a new feature that should bring more interest from consumers. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced yesterday that Healthcare.gov, the website that offers coverage plans on the health insurance exchange, is piloting a new feature allowing consumers to search for coverage options based on their preferred physicians or medical organization.
Additionally, a group of consumers will be part of the pilot program that allows them to select plans and compare their options based on the Doctor Lookup feature. This program will be held at random with one out of four visitors to the site being selected to pilot the Doctor Lookup component.
When first accessing the site, users will be given the choice to opt-in to participate in the pilot program. The users will also be able to leave comments and feedback directly on the site after utilizing the Doctor Lookup feature.
Along with the opportunity to pilot the program, consumers are given an opportunity to provide feedback in order to improve the feature and finalize and tailor the program based on customer requirements.
“The Doctor Lookup feature at HealthCare.gov is a direct result of consumer demand,” Kevin Counihan, CEO of the Health Insurance Marketplace, said in a public statement. “Our goal is to provide consumers with relevant, personal and more up-to-date information about a plan before enrolling. We thank the Marketplace health plans who have now made this information available to the public.”
At this point in time, there may be some inaccuracies or missing data from insurance companies, CMS reports. While CMS contains information from more than 90 percent of payers participating on the health insurance exchange, there are some that have not released validated data, which means some consumers may receive an alert saying “no data from insurance company” when searching for providers.
Those searching for health plans on the health insurance exchange should understand that doctors and other medical providers do change their coverage and reimbursement networks on a regular basis.
Insurers are encouraged to make sure that CMS receives all necessary information about which providers take their medical plans and which medical facilities are part of their network. Also, payers will need to provide information regarding which medications are covered in their plans.
This transparency will be very useful for consumers and will push forward more competition among companies on the health insurance exchange. The everyday consumer using the health insurance exchange can comparison shop for their health coverage.
Additionally, CMS hinted that a Prescription Drug Check feature will be coming out in the near future, which will allow consumers to search whether a health plan covers the costs of their particular prescription drugs.
These type of technological features would advance the health plan shopping experience and reduce the likelihood that consumers would make poor decisions. As previously reported, consumers who make poor decisions in the health insurance marketplace are likely to experience financial losses. However, the new features should help consumers make smart choices and reduce overall costs.
With insurance plans covering different aspects of care including various treatments and medications, it is important for a consumer to have all information needed to purchase a health plan. No individual should be left without coverage when they become diagnosed with a disease or are suddenly injured.
“The future for CMS is to create an open-source environment that drives innovation for the consumer. By requiring data transparency from health plans and providers and by releasing the information in a machine readable format, we are using consumer demand to accelerate that change,” CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt stated in the news release. “This fits in with our strategy and should make experiences like Marketplace Open Enrollment better for consumers.”
